Odd tips and tricks??

099859 · March 4

Can anyone give me any odd tips or tricks that is usually not said or heard of? Just wanna know

jolyn_sullivan · March 4

Change your plate size! I grew up in a house where you were expected to finish your plate. I find it a hard habit to break now. So I switched to a smaller plate and it really helps with portion control!

AnnPT77 · March 4

I've said it a bunch of times here, but I think it's unusual in the wider weight-loss universe: Pick a relatively easy plan - the easiest possible to follow plan - that will get to the goal and keep you there, not a "lose weight fast" plan. The calendar is not a weight loss tool.

yirara · March 4

I agree with AnnPT77 here: Keep it simple. There's no need to punish yourself.

springlering62 · March 5

I pre-log, usually several days out.

It helps me create a shopping plan. I go with a list and don’t buy anything not on that list. It also prevents the indecision of “I’m hungry and don’t know what’s for dinner so I’ll just get fast food or stuff my face with chips while I decide”.

Knowing what’s on the plan also gives me more flexibility. For example, my whole day was logged, but then my daughter asked if I wanted to meet her for cake and coffee.

I eliminated a planned snack, and moved another to after dinner. Net result? Stayed under goal, had a nice time with her, and enjoyed a nice treat. 👍🏻

Prelogging is the ultimate control.

CrazyMermaid1 · March 5

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/profile/1008025469/springlering62 I wholeheartedly agree. It’s a game changer to see what I have left to play with after the requirements are fulfilled. This is especially important for me to maintain muscle mass with high protein.

totameafox · March 5

I don't think there are any odd tips or tricks in existence. People have been trying to lose weight as long as weight as existed. Find activities you think are fun. Do meal prep. That way you cook multiple meals and divide them into servings before you eat. I found this had the added bonus of lowering my food bill and I'm eating healthier better quality foods.

Lietchi · March 5

I don't think it's an odd trick, but I haven't seen it mentioned a lot: don't eat food from the original container unless that is the portion you intend to consume.

For example potato chips: don't eat from a large bag, but take a bowl, weigh out the intended portion, close the bag and put it back in the cupboard.

Much less likely to overeat that way, in my experience anyway.

Alatariel75 · March 5

My 'odd' trick is to address a sugar craving with the polar opposite in flavour. If I have a sweet craving, I go for sour pickles, or something spicy. For some reason it completely distracts my taste buds and stops the sugar craving.

AnnPT77 · March 5

I hope the trigger for this post wasn't anticipation that someone here knew the "hacks" or "one weird trick" from all that skeezy marketing stuff on the web! 😆🤣

JK, OP - you wouldn't fall for that nonsense, I'm sure. 🙂

Hobartlemagne · March 5

More of a technique trick-
If you are weighing food that sticks to the spoon (for me its yogurt out of a big tub)
leave your spoon in a bowl when setting the tare weight on the scale.

That way you dont have to clean off the spoon for accurate weighing.

AnnPT77 · March 5

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48515082#Comment_48515082

Or put the whole tub of yogurt on the scale with the lid off, zero/tare the scale, and scoop out however much yogurt is desired into the bowl. The negative number on the scale is the amount taken out, whether stuck to the spoon or in the bowl.

That's what I do with my three pound tubs of yogurt.

Either method works, and either method saves steps vs. measuring out in cups.

mgalsf12 · March 6

I floss and brush my teeth after dinner. My signal to myself that I am done eating for the day. I won't snack if I do this.

littlegreenparrot1 · March 6

Its not all or nothing, and food has no morality.

I'm not a bad person if I have a chocolate biscuit on my tea break this afternoon, and it doesn't mean that everything is so ruined that I might as well fall face first into the whole packet.

Just move on to the next decision and keep moving in the right direction.

age_is_just_a_number · March 7

I agree with everything that’s already been said. My additions:

For people starting their healthy lifestyle journey: Make one small, simple change at a time. Eg., each two to four weeks make an additional small change such as:

log all your food for a month —> get into the habit of logging
Be more accurate with you logging, weighing and measuring everything
review your calories and nutrition for the previous weeks. Do you see a trend? Is there something you are eating that isn’t serving you? Is there a replacement for that item? Perhaps you drink soft drinks. Replace these drinks with water.
Then continue to log (which is already a habit) and evaluate what your next change will be.

If you don’t want to weigh and measure things consider using your plate as a guide:

1/4 whole grain

1/4 protein

1/2 vegetables

Brigit007 · March 10

Great thread!

If I get hungry I'll drink water or tea. This way I'm still putting something in my mouth. 😂

springlering62 · March 11

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48522934#Comment_48522934

It’s easy to interpret dehydration cues as hunger cues.

If feeling peckish, drink a glass of water, wait a few minutes and see if the “hunger” has abated.

Also, eat a nourishing meal or snack before you go grocery shopping. It really does prevent you from impulse purchases.

I’ve asked my husband to get his chips out of the kitchen. If I have to go looking for them, I’m not going to bother.

Even after several years of maintenance, I don’t (can’t!!!) keep snacks in the house unless they have some nutritional value. Other than a small trove of chocolate covered marzipan in the freezer. (Tip: freezing chocolates means you have to wait for them to thaw to enjoy. Plus, out of sight, out of mind).

After learning that armies in the Middle Ages received rations of marzipan to keep them in their feet, I feel better about them. After all, I’m an Army of One, they’re frozen anyway, individually wrapped servings, I usually don’t have patience to thaw them, and like half the stuff in my freezer, I forget they’re in there. 🤷🏻‍♀️

SuzanneC1l9zz · March 12

When faced with things like the office candy bowl: one choice at a time. What I mean by that is, do I want to have some right now? That's one choice. Perhaps in a couple of hours I'll be asking the same question again. One choice. Then maybe lunch time... salad or burger? One choice. So say I choose not to have the candy right now... that's one choice. It doesn't mean never. It doesn't have to even mean for the whole day... maybe in a couple of hours when I'm faced with another One Choice asking the same question, I will have some. But they're independent events. One choice at a time.

Theoldguy1 · March 12

Treats and desserts do not have to be a daily thing

paperpudding · March 12

I'm not as big on meal prep as some posters.

that is one of those things that is helpful for some but not others.

my one little trick involves desserts. If I have a bowl of icecream or similar, I eat it with a teaspoon. Just makes it seem more and last longer.

age_is_just_a_number · March 12

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48524701#Comment_48524701

On the flip side of this one, treats and desserts are a part of life and we should enjoy them when we have them.

Change the mindset from "what I'm not going to eat" to "what I am going to eat".

Theoldguy1 · March 12

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48525154#Comment_48525154

But you shouldn't be having the typical US treats and desserts every day is my point (unless one is considering an apple a treat/dessert). Assuming one wants to control weight and be healthy.

age_is_just_a_number · March 12

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48525494#Comment_48525494

yes, of course, I wasn’t disagreeing. I was adding.

AnnPT77 · March 12

When I want to improve my nutrition within my calorie goal, it's been much more effective for me to focus on how to get good things into my eating, rather than focusing on eliminating so-called bad things. YMMV.

girlwithcurls2 · March 15

No screen time while eating. Especially if I'm eating something that I find to be a treat. If I worked to fit in that 28g of Pringles and I eat them while scrolling on my phone, it's as if I never ate them at all. My brain didn't register them. Talk about mindless eating 🙄 So now, I pay attention to what I'm eating. I enjoy my treat, and my brain is much happier with that 28g and not begging for more. Just my own personal psychobabble in my head.

age_is_just_a_number · May 29

Eat slowly and mindfully. I just read this Precision Nutrition article which outlines their reasons why eating slowly and mindfully creates results and their suggestions on how to make it into a habit.

COGypsy · May 29

This may be more a result of ADHD than a true diet hack, but I keep my treats out where I can see them. I have 1-2 small pieces of chocolate every evening and I keep them in a big bowl on my dining table and am rarely tempted by them other than when I have them after dinner. In fact, if I find myself wanting to grab a piece during the day, it's a trigger for me to think a minute about what's going on because mid-day treats are usually a sign of emotional eating.

My brain is very much an "out of sight, out of mind" kind of creature and when I hide something I'm looking forward to eating, I spend a lot of energy trying not to forget that it's there, which makes me want it more and sooner than is my habit. Being able to see that it's there waiting for me when I'm ready saves a lot of wasted mental energy.

nossmf · May 29

But you shouldn't be having the typical US treats and desserts every day is my point (unless one is considering an apple a treat/dessert). Assuming one wants to control weight and be healthy.

Have to respectfully disagree with this. I have a "typical US dessert" every single day (cookies, cake, ice cream multiple times per week, etc); I have donuts every Sunday on my way to church; I have burgers, pizza, lasagna every month (and sometimes multiple times per month).

During this time, I have dropped 42lbs, and the amount of fat loss is actually even greater since I have far more muscle now than before. All my blood chemical markers are solidly in the green at my last physical. My waistline is only an inch greater than when I graduated school, I set multiple lifetime strength-level personal bests this past year in the gym. By every measure I can think of, I think I'm doing just fine in the "control weight and be healthy" category, all while still enjoying my food.

So what's my trick? Portion control. Two slices of pizza instead of four, eaten slowly to make it last longer; one scoop of ice cream instead of three, eaten slowly to make it last longer; etc.

csplatt · May 29

agree with pre logging. i do a lot of my weighing and measuring in the morning (fruit, etc) so i can just eat the next time im hungry. i’ll log the whole day while i drink my coffee so ive already made all my food choices. no need to be impulsive.